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Published July 15, 2009
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BA plans to sharpen premium business class focus
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(LONDON) British Airways plc, Europe's third-largest airline, plans to sharpen its focus on business flyers as the recession saps travel demand, the carrier's US chief said.
All-business-class flights between London's City Airport and New York start in September, and a promotion began yesterday offering US executives free travel to Europe to promote their companies, said Simon Talling-Smith, British Airways' executive vice- president for the Americas.
'We will continue to position ourselves as a premium airline, that is absolutely core to our business model,' he said in an interview on Monday. 'There is an ongoing demand for business travel, and that isn't going to go away.'
The London-based airline is slashing jobs and grounding flights to help survive a slump that will cause US$9 billion in worldwide industry losses this year, according to a June 8 forecast by the International Air Transport Association.
A return to pre-recession traffic levels like those seen in 2007 probably will take five years, Mr Talling-Smith said.
While British Airways hasn't sold out its initial flights between London City and New York's John F Kennedy International Airport, the carrier is 'pretty confident' that demand will rise as the Sept 29 start date nears, Mr Talling-Smith said.
'Our biggest customers are telling us that they are very interested,' said Mr Talling-Smith, who has worked for the carrier for 18 years.
'We're still confident we will make a good return on that flight,' he added.
British Airways, working to promote its premium-class service to US business passengers, will use some of its excess capacity for the 'Face-to-Face' essay competition for free European trips on three special flights carrying 1,000 people.
'One of the only benefits of the economic climate is that we have quite a lot of empty seats, and a few spare aircraft so the cost of the promotion is pretty small,' Mr Talling-Smith said. -- Bloomberg
